Steak Salad with Cucumber, Peppers, and Spicy Fish Sauce Vinaigrette

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life gives you pounds and pounds of leftover top quality dry-aged beef, you make a steak salad with cucumbers, peppers, herbs, and a spicy fish sauce-based dressing. At least, that's what I do.

It'd be a stretch to call this salad a particularly Thai or Vietnamese or any other South East Asian dish, but the flavors of the dressing—fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chilies—are straight out of their playbook.

Cucumbers and sliced red peppers add freshness and crunch, while peanuts, shallots, and cilantro round out the flavors. The rare-cooked beef makes a great vehicle for the sauce, which helps soften it up a bit as it sits. This is one of those salads that's even better when eaten the next day, making it ideal make-ahead lunch box fare.